Score

Rock'n'Bowl - Pool Hall


Dingy. At least that's what it seems like it is in here. The walls in the room are painted with a dark, smoky grey, which in no way brightens the area up. Surprisingly, the floors in this room are carpeted a near matching color - to keep the noise to a minimum, though the noise of the lanes down below can still be heard over the music. There are a half dozen pool tables set up in here as well as a snooker table, with just enough space in it to keep people from hitting one another with cues as they take their shots. Hanging above each table is a long bar which holds three lights, angled downward casting a somewhat shadowy glow upon the green felt. Recessed indentations on either wall allow for cue racks and chalk. A few small side-tables and chairs are set along the perimeter of the room, where one can leave their glass or belongings while they play.


While the Grisly bar is a nice, open, dingy place… the Pool Hall at the Rock'n'Bowl is not. The spaces are tight between the tables, the noise from the bowling alley lingers. Each clatter of pins dropping easily heard over the loud music.

This is most definitely not a great place to be if you're Scarlett Fontane. The only thing that is keeping her from hyperventilating at how crowded the pool hall is, is the fact that she's nestled at a small side-table. A glass of amber liquid is in front of her, poured over ice. She's not alone, as evidenced by the red coat thrown over the chair opposite where she sits. Then again, whoever her companion is isn't exactly seated there, and looks like they've not been seated there for some time.

-

The pool hall is a personal favorite of Hyde's. It's just loud, chaotic, and dark enough to keep him entertained, and offers a brilliant opportunity for him to gamble away money on the basis of his own personal merits. Therefore, it's not unusual to find him loitering about in one of the corner-most tables with a crowd that looks altogether too old and rough for him. And that is where he was, yes, hidden by the dim lighting and the rowdiness of the current crowd.

Was being the operative word here. Because the moment he noticed the presence of a certain witch, he winded up wandering in her direction, beer in hand. Without particularly alerting her of his presence or asking for permission, the gruff man slides into the chair of Scarlett's vacant friend, staring at her intently. Nothing is said.

-

Now, Scarlett is a generally observant person. It pays to be observant when you're an artist, and doubly so when you're constantly worried that your extended family is going to harm your immediate family. Even so, since she's waiting for the return of the person she came with she doesn't bother looking up from the glass in front of her.

"Right. So why are we here again?" Definitely not a favored place, as noted by the slightly irritable tone in her voice.

-

"So that you'd run into me again. Hey there, Banana Hammock." Hyde's voice is smooth, dry, and judging by that distinctive spark in his eye? Highly amused. It is much lower, and much gruffer than the voice of Scarlett's companion. "You trying to steal my crown for sulkiest bastard in any given establishment? Because if so, I'll have to turn up the heat a tad bit. Make it hard on you."

-

Head snapping up, eyes locking onto his face, Scarlett scowls for a moment. It's a dark look for her, but after a second or two she pushes past the panic and nausea she's feeling at being in such a close-quarters type place. Stupid claustrophobia. "Peachy. You stop by just to harass me, Surly, or did you want something?" There's a forced smile, and a glance around to see where her date, friend, or whatever the hell they are, drifted off to.

-

Hyde can't help it. At the scowl, the man inches one of his eyebrows upwards in a faintly incredulous manner, pursing his lips with distaste. His good humor? Well, that's mostly flown out the window. "What crawled up your ass and died." He deadpans, turning the question into a derisive comment. "What could I possibly want from you, other than your sparkling company." Can you feel the sarcasm, wafting in the air?

-

"This." Scarlett motions her arm out around the room. "Tight spaces. I tend not to see eye to eye with them." That forced smile is still there, and eventually she just exhales a heavy sigh and rather than stressing over the room, focuses on the surly sarcastic guy in front of her. Right hand gripping the glass of amber liquid, she downs it. Makes a face, and then flips the empty glass over onto the "cocktail" napkin. "So I apologize for being less than stellarly chipper." The fact that he's the only one out of all the men in her life — barring those related to her — that would ask that isn't going unnoticed either.

-

When Scarlett explains the root of her discomfort, it calms Hyde to a certain degree. With a sort of muted curiosity, he glances around the room, brow quirked. "Huh. Yo claustrophobic or just really anal or something?" He inquires, fingering his frosted glass before throwing back a bit more beer. "Apologies are for pussies. Save it. Why're you here if it skeeves you out?"

-

"The former." She raises her right hand to flag down the bartender, to get him to bring another of whatever it was she was drinking. Scarlett rolls her eyes at Hyde, and states, "Don't go blabbing that around, alright?" Not that he's the type that would, but it's a very Scarlett thing to say. "Flighty friend from college is passing through and this is his favorite type of place to be." Never mind that he went chasing some hot blonde at least thirty minutes ago and hasn't bothered to return. "Sacrifices."

-

Hyde doesn't even recognize Scarlett's request. It should be a given that he wouldn't go around telling people that Scarlett's claustrophobic because…well, who would he tell? "Ah," he offers mildly when she gives the anecdote about her college friend. "Sacrifices. Right. There's no need to sit here like my fucking grandma though. Play a round. Give body shots. It'll help you get your mind off of the fact that you're a scaredy cat when it comes to walls."

-

A blink is all he gets. Thankfully before she can respond, the bartender plunks the next glass in front of her. Without even bothering to sip, she pretty much chugs the amber liquid back, snapping her eyes shut tightly as it burns down her throat. When the glass is stacked atop the previous one, Scarlett just blinks at Hyde again. "Right. Because I want Larry, Curly, and Moe over there," she says jerking her head toward the back corner, "To drink shots off my body. Brilliant idea." There's not really enough room to play pool in here either, at least not comfortably.

-

"How about me." Hyde deadpans, staring at the woman without faltering as he presents this option. "Let me take a shot off of your body." With the offer/suggestion out there, the man sits back slightly, turning his lofty gaze over towards rowdy crowd that happens to be surrounding them. "…The Three Stooges, by the way? Really? You sound like my grandma too, what with your choice of pop culture references."

-

"Would you rather I call them Huey, Dewey, and Louie?" Scarlett shakes her head, then starts to fiddle with the two up-ended glasses. Stacking and unstacking them. "Here? In the pool hall? With twenty or thirty kids out in he bowling alley peering in?" Her brow arches up, and she lets out a highly amused snort. "Catch me at the Warehouse sometime, and maybe." Hell, she'd probably do it there just to piss off Robert at this point. "You typically hang out in these tightly crowded places? I suppose it suits you better than an art studio, to say the least."

-

"Why not?" Hyde challenges, arching his brows slightly. "Those teenagers need some degree of debauchery to aspire to. It's better than me suggesting we duck into the bathroom for some kind of quickie." He takes a break from promoting his bad deeds for the moment to consider her words. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. It's a good way to make some extra pocket cash every once in a while. And what's that supposed to mean, yeah?"

-

"Just not my style," Scarlett replies easily, the glasses continuing to be stacked and unstacked to keep her busy and not thinking about how the walls actually feel like they're creeping in on her here. "Debauching teenagers that is." When he replies to her assumption, she nods. "Extra cash is generally a good thing, yeah. So, you some sort of pool shark, then?" Eyes dart toward the pool tables, then back to him. "It's supposed to mean that you look more at ease here, as opposed to my studio." After nearly dropping one of the glasses, and just barely catching it, the fiddling with them stops. "You like to bolt too, hmm?"

-

"Not really," The debauchery is easily skipped over as Hyde decides to directly respond to the 'pool shark' assumption. "I'm just good at pool. There's a crowd of regulars here, drop by and play for money. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose." Clearly, he only sticks around for the love of the game. And for the love of gambling. "Ah. Well, that's because I am. I told you. Art isn't my thing. I can handle sticky counters and leather jackets just fine, though." And then, finally… "Bolt? What?" He is legitimately confused.

-

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you win more often than not." Scarlett starts to tap her foot on the floor. Over and over. Quickly and repetitively. The place isn't as bad as the elevators in her brother's building, but it's definitely not open enough to keep her calm. "The other morning. Out before dawn? Not that I care, it was just an observation."

-

"Oh. Right." Hyde lets out a laboured sigh, looking a bit unpleasant at the turn of events. "I had shit to do. It generally works better than waiting until you woke up, just for me to tell you that no, I'm not going to wait for breakfast and spend the rest of the day cuddling. Nothing personal, Princess." Beat. "You didn't want to see me in the morning, did you?" He inquires, faintly bemused. Thought, after a moment, his hand strikes outwards to grab hers - a demand for her full attention. He's staring at her with a more solemn air now, frowning slightly. "Oy - look to me, alright?" Although it might seem like a selfish command, for once, there's a faintly altruistic motive behind it. He can tell that she's growing discomforted by the close proximity of the walls again - and is trying to ground and possibly distract her.

-

"Not really. Easier for me too, really, since I didn't have to explain you to my siblings." Which was a very nice plus. Scarlett snickers a bit when he calls her "Princess" though. Snarky or not, it reminds her a little of childhood times. She's about to say so, when he's suddenly got hold of her hand and is staring at her like that. Her eyes snap back to his face, and she doesn't move. Her foot is still tapping, though the movement has slowed considerably. "I'm not a cuddler either. I can't see the point in wasting all that time when it can be put to better use."

-

Once Hyde is certain that he's gotten her attention, that he's managed to stave away at least some of her difficulties, he allows the most imperceptible of nods to escape him. A curt bob of his head, followed by a barely-there squeeze of his rough fingers before he allows his hands to slide away. "…Siblings?" He inquires, sounding vaguely surprised. "I didn't see any siblings. But…huh. I'll keep that in mind for future reference." He is clearly assuming that their one night of debauchery will be repeated at some point or another. Presumptuous, perhaps.

-

He's being nice, and Scarlett doesn't understand why. It's just not who he is. At least not who she's seen thus far. That he'd do that, just to keep her calm, is likely only for his benefit of not being seen with a hyperventilating psychopath. Either way it borders on being sweet, which is why she's wearing a confused expression. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Casa de Fontane. It was a one room apartment back behind the studio. I recently renovated it though, to put two rooms in the upstairs storage area since my baby sister came to Dallas for school. Then Trey showed up out of the blue." She's babbling, but it's a much better nervous activity than something destructive. "You have any siblings?"

-

That's what Hyde is. A mystery, wrapped in an enigma, in the shape of question mark. "Trey the brother you're always talking about?" He inquires gruffly. "And…you think your kid siblings heard us?" His bemusement is momentarily masked by him finishing off his beer. "Mhmm? Ah. Yeah. Kid brother. Isaac." If she wants more than that, however, she's going to have to pry.

-

"No, that would be Ivan." Scarlett's eyes widen to the size of the bottom of the glasses she was playing with just moments ago. "Christ I hope not." That would definitely be difficult to explain to Helen, and since she's already had the sex-talk with her sister, it's not one she wants to repeat. "Big age difference between you and your brother?" Hardly prying, just your average, everyday conversation having. Anything so that she's not dwelling on how closed in things are.

-

"You might want to get that checked. Just in case." Hyde grunts out in response to Scarlett's valiant 'hope'. "I know how to soundproof rooms easy. I could help…for a price." He leans back, dark eyes flying to the other inhabitants of the room, refusing to look at Scarlett despite the fact that they're conversing. "Six years. Big enough."

-

"Really?" Scarlett considers that quietly. She's remaining calm, the conversation distracting her from her phobia. "Well come back over some time, take a look at the rooms, and give me an estimate." It'll help when Helen starts bringing home friends from college anyhow. "Almost the same between me and my sister. Seven years for us." As much as she wants to peer over and see what he's looking at, she just stays staring at him. "Keeping you from a game?"

-

Hyde's not peering at anyone in particular. He's merely glancing around, tapping his feet in a faintly restless fashion. The result of a man refusing himself activity for the sake of remaining stoic. "Hn. It's a bit of a different world, isn't it? I - …wait, what?" Finally, he hazards peering over to her from out of the corner of his eyes. "Nah. I don't want to play, or I would. I want…" He doesn't know. But that restlessness in his soul confirms that he doesn't want to remain here any longer. Suddenly, he makes his way to his feet, allowing his shoulders to roll in their sockets. "I'm going for a walk." And then, he peers towards her over her shoulder. "Coming with?"

-

Oh thank god he wants to get out of here. Scarlett could really do with a wide open space right about now. Even if she didn't want to be with him? Any excuse to get out of the cramped space is a godsend. "Hell yes." Up on her feet, she grabs a few bills from her purse and leaves them on the table. She only wastes enough time to scratch out a quick note on the cocktail napkin for her non-visible friend and then she's got her purse on her shoulder.

-

Waiting is not something Hyde enjoys. And so he stands about as patiently as he can, waiting for the other woman, until finally it snaps and he starts off without her about three seconds too soon. As he makes his way outside of the bowling alley, he's already plucking out a carton of cigarettes from his pockets, pulling out one particular cancer stick with reverence. The moment he's outside, he lights up the cigarette and takes a long drag against the brick wall that is behind him. He sighs then, pleased.

-

Three seconds isn't a whole lot of a head start, but it's enough of one that Scarlett is rushing out of the place, skirting around kids in bowling shoes until she's outside. Once immediately outside the door, she's leaning over, hands on her knees and taking several deep, gasping breaths. When the dizziness subsides, and she's feeling better at no longer being "trapped" in such a tight space, she then, and only then glances around to see where Hyde's gotten to. "That much of a rush to get your nicotine fix?"

-

"No," Hyde declares, despite the fact that his actions clearly tell a different story. Soon enough, he makes his way beside the woman, one hand in his pocket in that casual, cool kid slouch as he continues to puff away. "That fucked up by the claustrophobia?" Once the jeer has been delivered, Scarlett will find something out of the ordinary: a lit cigarette, held right in front of her as an offering. Hyde's lit cigarette, to be more precise.

-

"It'll go away in a minute or two. It's the dizziness." Scarlett waves the cigarette away. "That's not going to help," she answers honestly. Straightening herself up, she looks at him, then shakes her head. "It's not generally this bad when I'm in a public place, but with how tight everything is in that pool hall…" The tables barely having enough room to move between them, the number of people that are in there, the fact that it's so dark and dingy… well it gets to her.

-

"Take a drag anyway." Hyde encourages, but he doesn't follow through, as soon enough the cigarette is back in his mouth. "Or not. Whatever. So, can you walk yet? Because I'm not carrying your fat ass anywhere." His eyes lower on her form as he gruffs out this mostly empty drawl, fixing upon the aforementioned buns.

-

There's a slight body stretch, another long intake of air, and then Scarlett nods. "Yeah, I can walk. Don't worry. You won't need to carry me anywhere." Unlike her brother, who when drunk, and punched, passes out and needs to break people's legs to make himself feel good. Bygones, but she still harbors resentment maybe a little. "You're not going to make me cry, you know."

-

"Good." Hyde decides then, already moving forward at a rather rapid pace. Into the night, the man strides, assuming that Scarlett will be able to keep up. He's bypassing the parking lot…at least, for now. "Mhmm?" Fairly surprised, he glances over his shoulder to narrow his brows at the young woman. "How do you know I'm not going to?" It's a challenge at this point.

-

"When my own brother tells me I'm unloved and destined to be alone, I'm pretty sure I can handle anything." They may have not been the exact words used, but they're close enough. Scarlett can walk swift enough. She's a fairly athletic girl when it comes right down to it. "So if you're dead-set on trying to do it, you're going to be disappointed." She's doing her crying behind closed doors these days anyhow.

-

"Huh. Is that why you're obsessed with him? Your brother? Some sort of…semi-masochistic sibling rivalry crap?" Hyde inquires, tapping the ashes off of the end of his cigarette. "I'm not trying to make you cry. It'd be too easy now. You've told me too much about yourself. There'd be no…no challenge in it." The surly man admits dryly. "Do you think I was trying to make you cry?" It's his way. To reverse everything he can, and turn it back on Scarlett.

-

"Something like that, yeah." No point in lying about it when it's the truth. "It's your nature, Hyde. You're surly, you're mean, you try to get a rise out of someone." A heavy shrug of her shoulders, and she spins around to walk backward and talk to him. "You're right though. I'm oversharing. My bad."

-

"If I was trying to make you cry, I wouldn't have taken you out of that room, now would I have?" Hyde points out easily enough. A steady stream of smoke is blowed out of his lungs, before the man finds himself shaking his head and depositing the butt of his cigarette on the floor. "You're right, though. It is in my nature. So don't underestimate the things I can say and do to hurt you." This is as much a warning as he'll give her, and quite generous, at that. "You're not oversharing."

-

"No, you wouldn't have. You've got too many different facets for me to figure you out." Something that Scarlett obviously finds a little unnerving. "I rarely underestimate anyone." Mostly due to her grandfather, partially due to her distrust of certain people. "No, you're not oversharing. I was. You likely know more about me than some that I consider my closest friends."

-

It's barely there. But in the shadows and cheap artificial lighting of the streetlights, one corner of Hyde's lips quirks upwards. "And how does that make you feel, Princess?" Hyde drawls out when she admits to not being able to figure him out, partially derisive, but genuinely curious behind that front. "Is that necessarily a bad thing? Close friends are a crutch. An outside perspective every once in a while can be a good thing. And a stranger is the best person to confide to."

-

"Keep calling me that Surly, and I might start to like it." Actually, she already does like it. She has a partiality to nicknames. Even derisive ones. "It's a little frustrating, but I'll eventually get it." He's given a smile, and then spins back around to start walking properly again. "And quit throwing that pop-psychology stuff at me. You ask too many questions." At the thought that he's a stranger, he just gets a laugh. "Hard to classify yourself as a stranger when we know each other biblically."

-

"I don't even know your last name." Hyde points out, bemused, in order to hammer down the point that they are, still, basically strangers. "I know your body, sure. I know how to make you moan. But I don't know you, and you sure as hell don't know me. Sex is just sex." Even though, really, sex is never just sex. "Would you rather I just grunt in your general direction instead?"

-

"Isn't that what you're doing now," she teases with another small laugh. "And if you were paying attention in there, you got it." Casa de Fontane. "It's Fontane, by the way. I generally don't like to advertise that, since people associate me with Ivan, and I'm nothing like he is." Except when she is, but she's not going to dwell on that. "Sex is never just sex."

-

"Well then, what do you consider that night, if it wasn't just sex?" Hyde inquires, canting his head to the side in a curious fashion. When she admits her relationship to Ivan, there is no reaction - as Hyde doesn't pay much attention to local politics, and he certainly doesn't care to know the identity of the young woman's siblings. He subtly picks up his speed then, trying to catch up with the woman that's ahead of him.

-

"Haven't really labeled it, but if it was just sex, you wouldn't have bothered coming up with an excuse to get me out of there." Which, despite his surly attitude, has generally warmed him up to her. "What would you call it? Just sex? Screwing around?" When he catches up, she glances over at him and shakes her head.

-

"Aren't you presumptuous." Hyde drawls then, quirking his brows upward. "Thinking I came up with the excuse to get you out of there. The world doesn't revolve around you, Princess. Particularly not my world." His eyes roll, but despite his words he ends up shooting his hand out to try and make a grab for Scarlett's arm, so that he can jerk her into him. "I call it fucking, personally."

-

Jerked against him, Scarlett just gives him a look. "Crass." There's no struggle to get free, and no punch — yet. "Never said the world revolved around me, Surly. Especially yours. What I was saying was that it was a nice thing you did. I appreciate it." Locking her eyes onto his, she just tries to stare him down at this point. Acting as intense as she possibly can.

-

"You like it," Hyde decides for her as he settles his hands around her waist, pulling her in against him. "It's different from what you're used to, from men. It excites you, despite the fact that you don't want it to." He'll just ignore and jump right over the seemingly 'nice' thing he did. For the staring? That he can handle. Looking at her right back, he allows his tongue to wet his lips before ducking a little closer to her.

-

"I do not," Scarlett protests, continuing to stare at him. "Stop psychoanalyzing me. If I needed an armchair shrink, I'd go find one." Then he's right there. Leaning in again. Her stare narrows to a miniature glare, but she holds her ground. "So what are you planning on doing, Surly. Kissing me, or just taunting me?"

-

"You do too," Hyde firmly contradicts, but that's as far as he'll get. Without offering her the opportunity to retort, his lips will attempt slide onto hers without hesitation. Beer-tinged, hot, his breath dances against her even while his hands press her flush against him.

-

There is a small disagreement, the words barely past her lips when she's kissed. Scarlett allows it, even pursues it briefly. As she starts to draw away from the kiss a little, she bites gently at his lower lip. "Jerk," she mutters at him, eyes not bothering to open to catch his reaction.

-

There is a low, guttural sort of groan of appreciation when she proceeds to nibble on his lower lip. Hyde's eyes, shut as they are, slowly slides open. There is a new sort of intensity in his gaze. A sort of feral, animalistic hunger, and slowly, one of his hands begins it's sensuous journey upwards to the side of her neck. "Mhmm? So maybe I am. You don't seem all that preoccupied with that fact."

-

The sheer animalism he seems to pick up from that bite causes Scarlett to grin. "Yeah, whatever. You're a jerk." It's not a reason to completely hate someone. And she's seen the nice side of him, if however briefly. Her eyes peek open, blinking at him once. "We're pretty far off from West Dallas," she comments quietly. And she's not about to get all jiggy with it in the street.

-

Hyde pulls away from her slowly, brows furrowed in thought. His attention travels around their current environment, drinking in the relative peace of the night. One very long, deliberate pause later, and he lets out a low sigh, moving closer to her once against so that he can nip at her ear lobe. "C'mon. I've got my car. We'll drive back to your place, yeah? Unless you want to kick it old school and get freaky right in the parking lot."

-

The car is close. The car is — what the Hell is she thinking? Scarlett begins to give her head a shake to actually clear it, and so that she can behave herself like a proper lady. Then the jerk is nibbling at her ear. There is a slow woosh of air as she exhales a shuddery sigh and then nods. "Right. Car. Drive. How much've you had to drink?" She only saw the one bottle, and she's had about four of whatever it was she was ordering, which means she'll come back tomorrow to pick up her car. Good enough.

-

Hyde quirks his lips upwards with smug satisfaction, finally pulling away from her just so he can fix her with that smoldering glance. "Enough. I can still drive. C'mon." And with that tug, he goes to introduce Scarlett to his baby - the Pontiac GTO that acts as the most precious, loved thin in Hyde's life right now. And when they're both settled down, off he drives at a rather quick speed.

-

ARTS - Apartment


A lot neater than the studio, the little apartment is cute, quaint, and cozy. A tiny bistro set is nestled into the kitchen nook, only enough room for two people to enjoy coffee or a meal. Though small, the kitchen is fully equipped with a small refrigerator, stove and microwave. The room acting as the living room-slash-bedroom consists of a large futon, at least twenty pillows of varying colors and sizes, and a large comfortable looking chair. A small television and entertainment system have been set up opposite the futon.


How long has Scarlett been out since Robin came to pick her up earlier? She's lost track of what time it is. Getting out of the babyized Pontiac GTO, she stumbles a little to the door. There's a bump against it, a small laugh as she fumbles for her keys, and then yanks the back door of the apartment open. No point in coming in through the shop at this time of night. The damned bell would wake everyone up.

"Shhhh," she whispers at whoever is behind her. "Quiet. No clue if anyone is here." If they are, Trey may just be sleeping on the couch and waking him up? That would suck.

-

"Quiet?" Comes a very masculine grunt from directly behind Scarlett, low and gruff in timber. "You're the one that's talking. Just shut up and move, before my patience runs out and I throw you down right here." There is some shuffling, the sounds of a heavy work boot against the floor, but for the most part, Scarlett's male companion seems a lot more stable than she is currently.

-

But at least one sibling is here and awake. Helen is in the kitchen, working diligently on a midnight snack that could only be described as a work of art, such are the layers and varying hues of meat and cheese and veggies in her sandwich. Her eyes might just be a little bigger than her stomach right now, and she sort of got carried away trying to fit in a bit of everything. Some boredom might be also to blame, since a girl can only watch so many infomercials in a row at this hour of night. At the sound of someone bumping into the door, she looks up from her preparations with a thoughtful frown, waiting to see where this is going. What she can make out from the whispering and grunting is enough to get baby sister's eyebrows to lift a bit.

-

"Shhhh —" — it.

Scarlett looks back at Hyde and mutters something under her breath. Then she waltzes into the apartment, trying to keep her footing a lot more stable than it was when she bumped the door. "Helen? What are you doing up?" Not that she's mothering her baby sister. Oh no. More like, wondering why she's not in her room so that Scar can sneak up to hers.
You whisper, "Shit, my sister is awake… no chance of actually slipping up unnoticed." to Hyde.

-

When Hyde bumps into the woman directly in front of her, he slips up and pauses, mid-step, brows furrowing in response. Unsure of what to do, he just…freezes there, quite silent. As if hoping that Helens are creatures that hunt by sight motion, and like raptors, lose sight of their targets if the stand just still enough. The result is likely quite amusing, as the Fontane's get a real sized Hyde statue in their back doorway.

-

Helen graces her big sister with a sweet smile, eyebrows rising slightly again as Scarlett asks why she's up - and perhaps there's an unspoken teasing sentiment of 'I could ask you the same thing'. But Helen is a good sister, so she just licks a bit of mayonnaise off of her thumb and then gestures down at the towering monstrosity. "I wanted a snack." The Hyde-statue earns a curious look. "Is he okay?" she asks in a lower tone intended for her sister alone, though in the quiet apartment, it's quite possible Hyde can catch that too. She nods slightly in Hyde's direction in case Scarlett thinks she's talking about some other 'he' who's currently frozen like a statue in their doorway.

-

"Huh? Oh." Scarlett looks back at the frozen Hyde, and jabs him with her elbow. "He's peachy, sure." Clearing her throat, she nods to the sandwich. "Looks way too big for you, squirt." It's one thing to have had Helen come in for pizza with Carter, but this is most decidedly different. "Robin ditched me at the pool hall. You know how I get there." With the claustrophobia and all. "He was nice enough to give me an excuse to leave before Robin got back." Should be enough explanation for her sister. Only, the eldest Fontane is now babbling quite prolifically.

-

"Ow!" Hyde grunts sullenly, shooting Scarlett a momentary glare for the jab. Once his 'still' facade has ended, however, he finds that there is no need for censorship. "Ah…hey." He offers, a bit awkwardly. The frown on his face is decisive, and after a second longer of inactivity, he lets out a sigh. "Fuck it. Are you going to eat that entire thing?" He inquires, nodding towards the sandwich as he stalks forward towards the sister and the counter.

-

Helen glances down at the sandwich in an attempt to hide her grin at these attempts at subterfuge. They'd have done better distracting her with a shiny object or beaming a laser pointer at the far wall. "Oh, yeah, it… Well, I guess I got sort of carried away," she admits with a slightly-sheepish shrug, though she's just come to accept that these things happen. "I couldn't decide what to put in it, so I put everything. But I'll try!" Looking back now to the dangerous duo, she nods with some understanding as to Scarlett's problems with the pool hall. "That was very nice of you," she notes to Hyde, and it's hard to tell whether or not she's actually savvy enough to recognize it might have been something other than just manners.

-

Now that the whole sneaking in thing has been thoroughly interrupted, Scarlett looks to her baby sister then to Hyde. "Helen, Hyde. Hyde, Helen." That's about as far as introductions are going to go. "You want something to drink?" Then she's actually moving into the apartment, allowing Hyde to come in or bolt. Whichever he sees fit to do. No point in having him stand half in and half out of the apartment all night. "Please tell me that's not peanut butter mixed in with the mayo." A slightly disgusted expression is turned on her sister while she's moving in to find a bottle of something. Beer, likely, since that's what's in the fridge.

-

"Hn," Hyde grunts in recognition, nodding to Helen when the pair are introduced. Grimly, he peers at Helen's masterpiece, mostly because that's the most comfortable place to look at. "It was nothing, really. Good luck with that. It looks disgusting." Aaaand, welcome to Hyde-land, Helen. He cannot help how abrasive he comes off, or he doesn't want to. "Ah? Yeah. Sure. I'll take anything alcoholic. Unless I'm leaving…?" So much for playing the 'lets skirt around the issue at hand' game.

-

"Hey Hyde. Nice to meet you," Helen replies, her sunshininess unhindered by the mere grunt she gets from Hyde. She glances back to her sandwich, giving a little shrug as she considers it. "People probably thought peanut butter and banana was disgusting too, until somebody was brave enough to try it. So I figure, why not me?" It certainly sounds a lot more noble than what actually happened, but she is, yes, actually going to try to eat it. This is a girl who chooses her pizza toppings by random selection. To Scarlett's pleading statement, Helen just gives a faint smirk. "I thought you didn't want me to lie to you either… I figure it'll be sort of a, you know, sweet and salty thing." Maybe. She looks between Hyde and her sister for a moment, at his pointed question. "Though I think I've done enough damage to this sandwich for one night. I should probably take it back to my room…" It's almost but not quite a question, posed to Scarlett.

-

Way to put Scarlett on the spot. She turns and just stares at Hyde for a moment. "Beer. Right." Moving to the fridge, she goes to grab two and offers one over to him, cap still on. Opening her mouth to comment on the monstrosity of the sandwich, she near chokes when Helen is mentioning sweet and salty. One can only guess where Scarlett's mind is tonight. "It still sounds disgusting." There is no way anyone could get her to eat that combination of food. So, so gross.

"Ahh…" Her hand comes up to rub the back of her neck, and she blushes. "Tell you what, squirt. You stay down here and eat that sandwich. We'll head upstairs to talk." That way they won't have to deal with Trey whenever he drags himself back here.

-

At the stare, Hyde merely leans against the nearest surface and offers Scarlett a casual sort of shrug. She hadn't exactly prepped him on what behavior to exude if caught by the baby sister of the apartment. "Sound logic," Hyde commends Helen for her sandwich adventures, and she is given a nod of approval. Taking his beer, he wastes no time in snapping it open and taking one particularly large swig as he allows the sisters to talk. After all, this isn't his area of expertise, and he's apparently messed up already.

-

Helen, of course, meant no such innuendo by her 'sweet and salty' comment, so the baby sister just remains blissfully unaware as to what's choking poor Scarlett. Fortunately for them both, she just chalks it up to further disgust at her piece de resistance. "Of course it does," she agrees with a nod, saying it as though that's the whole point. It wouldn't be an adventure in food if it sounded good. Hyde's approval earns a quick grin from her and an enthusiastic, "Thanks!" And then looking back to Scarlett, her eyebrows lift just enough to suggest she's caught that blush, but she just gives another smile, nodding her head. "Guess that means I have dibs on the remote."

-

Not messed up, put her on the spot. There's a huge difference in the world of Scarlett. "The remote? Sure, of course you do, squirt. Order a pay-per-view movie or something. My treat." The elder Fontane woman is moving toward the stairs that lead up to the rooms. "I'll run out in the morning and get some antacid for you or something, since I'm pretty sure that sandwich is going to make you ill." A hand grabs for Hyde's arm to drag him along with. "Enjoy it though!"

-

"Ugh - it was, err. Nice meeting you," Hyde grunts as he's carted away by Scarlett, struggling to keep his new beer from spilling over and glancing over his shoulder to bid the nineteen year old adieu. "Sleep…tight? We'll try and keep quiet?" Really, at this point, he's not even trying to be an ass. He's just unfamiliar with the prospect of stumbling into family during these types of calls.

-

"Cool," Helen replies, looking vaguely pleased at having scored herself a free pay-per-view movie. Grinning to herself, she fetches a plate down to begin the precarious task of transferring the sandwich without letting it topple or spill. The contents are really just too much for the bread to contain. It is certainly not structurally sound. But that doesn't matter to Helen. She pauses to offer a not in return to Hyde, not quite too sure what to do with his comment either, so she sticks with the safer, "Nice meeting you too!" And then it's back to sandwich art.

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